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AS RECEIVED. THEY ARE UNEDITED.

Dear Uncle Joe:

I just saw an article on Facebook about hunters and anti hunters in
England who worked together to rescue a horse who was stuck in
freezing cold mud. I have also read articles about hunters who have
freed deer and other animals who had become caught in fences. I
know you guys think hunting and hunters are irredeemably bad, but
don’t these kinds of incidents make you think that collaboration for
the greater good is possible?

Hopeful in Santa Fe,
Alice

Dear Alice:

Yes, there are isolated incidents of hunters helping wildlife and
we’re thankful that they go out of their way to help animals in
need. I do think there are hunters who limit their hunts to those in
which there is an element of “fair chase” (as they call it) and who
do not blindly shoot at everything that moves. I personally know one
hunter who didn’t pull his trigger at all during his last two
week-long hunting trips because he didn’t have a clear shot at an
animal. He does not post “trophy” pics to his Facebook page and it
would not surprise me at all if this guy told me that he’s stopped
to help wildlife in distress before.

While he indeed feels *something* for wildlife, there is a
fundamental flaw in his thought process and in his character that
allows him to actually enjoy killing animals. They enjoy their week
in the woods but it is not the same unless they have killed. When we
understand that what we seek (the absolute deconstruction of the
“conservation” systems that kill millions of animals every year) is
the polar opposite of what hunters and the agencies that serve them
work tirelessly to continue, we can see that there can be no
collaboration on issues that will bring fundamental and irreversible
change. Individual hunters have worked on anti-trapping initiatives
and anti-canned hunting measures and we’re thankful for their
voices. But what they offer is limited and at the end of the day
they have to be seen as the enemy of wildlife. When they have their
way animals die. We cannot forget that, regardless of the amount of
good they do in a given situation.

Peace,
Uncle Joe

Dear Uncle Joe:

Is there anything more bizarre than hunters who put a stuffed head
on their wall. It’s so macabre isn’t it? I mean having the dead
bodies of these poor animals all over their houses is pretty sick.
My sister’s husband is one of these sickos and he has skulls with
antlers in the hallway of their house. He said he did them himself
– G R O S S!!! He said he boiled the head in borax and water and
hosed everything off. WHY??????

Molly,
Conroe, TX

Hi Molly,

Yes, it’s really weird that hunters want to keep the skulls of
the animals they have killed, but it is a pattern that is well
established in the world of killers. Both hunters and serial human
killers are well known to keep trophies of some kind, be they
photographs of their prey, heads and antlers, jewelry, or human body
parts. Keeping these souvenirs allows them to relive their
experiences, much as normal people do when they review mementos of
past vacations and family get-togethers.

It’s also interesting to note that both serial human killers and
hunters will use the same rationale for their killing; they will
blame it on the victims. Hunters use overpopulation and disease as
their excuses for killing, while serial human killers say their
victims were asking for it or that they were cleaning up society by
getting rid of bad people.

While it is not difficult to see parallels between these two
different kinds of sicknesses, but we do not mean to imply that all
hunters are just human killers waiting to happen. Killing your own
kind is definitely another step of depravity that comes from being
irredeemably mentally disturbed, while killing animals is something
that is simple to teach to a young, impressionable mind since it
doesn’t take the same severity of sickness that killing humans does.
In any case, wanting to kill for pleasure is a mentality that is not
normal and it cannot be excused by claiming culture, sport, or
tradition.

Uncle Joe

Dear Uncle Joe:

I’ve been taking my boy hunting since he was 18 months old and now
that he’s 4 I am teaching him how to responsibly handle a gun.
Teaching a child to handle a gun is a responsible thing to do, so
they grow up knowing the right way to use one. When he feels he’s
ready and when I feel he’s ready he will be out on his own hunting.
As a New Mexico resident I am sure you know that there is no minimum
hunting age and that kids can hunt after being properly trained and
getting their youth hunting number. I can’t wait to be there when he
becomes one of us and gets his first game. I feel bad for you all,
teaching children to play video games instead of enjoying life. My
son, and his son and his grandchildren will carry on the tradition.
Don’t shove your hatred of hunting down my throat.

Alvaro,
Las Mesa, NM

Dear Alvaro:

Wow, did you even read the e-mail you sent us? We shouldn’t shove
our hatred of hunting down your throat, but, Father of the Year, you
say you’ve been brainwashing your son for two-and-a-half years now.
Is that not shoving your beliefs down his throat?

All I need to do is quote you the number of gun deaths every year
(more than 33,000 a year according to the CDC) to show you that
there is no need to teach a child to handle a gun. In fact, doing so
increases the chances that he will be the victim of gun violence in
one way or another. Please tell me you’ve scheduled a vasectomy so
you don’t pollute the mind of another child since you can’t properly
raise the one you have.

Ah yes, video games. Hunters hate video games because they say the
games keep kids from killing animals. If this is true, consider me
one of the biggest video game fans on the planet. Have you seen one
called Deer Avenger? You’re the deer and you stalk the woods looking
for hunters to shoot. Lots of fun!

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